Monday, July 03, 2006

So the new MYSPACE.COM for the Yiddish film has just passed the 500 friend list. It's gaining new friends on a daily bassis. It's so cool to see the response and how so may people are adding comments and are emailing us, so happy to be friends with this film.It's also cool to know, after press in San Fran didn't want to help us with our big premiere there, that we decided to continue going the indie route, and find friends for our film in alternative means.

A film about an old diva looking for an audience in a society that worships youth is finding friends, just like her, underground.

Long live the independent scene.

Dan

Here's the URL to our myspace:http://www.myspace.com/yiddishtheateralovestory

Here's the first part of the Myspace, for those too lazy to link to it :

General WE ARE NOT ASHAMED ANYMORE. WE LOVE YIDDISH AND WE'RE PROUD !( EVEN IF WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT) There's something sad and ironic that Jews throughout history have helped save every dying culture. From Kabuki to ancient Chinese cultures. Yet time and again in the 20 and 21st centuries they've done everything to kill their own culture. It seems Jews are ashamed of this culture which is softer and gentler than many other cultures. An old culture that worships the importance of family might be looked down on in a society that has over 50% divorces. A society drugged on VICODIN, ZANAX, and PROZAC to the point of making life one big numb experiene- perhaps can only mock a culture that focuses on feelings- and always mixing all of them- from love, to hate-from laughter to tears, sometimes in the same sentence. Yiddish is a culture which is not afraid to mix laughter with tears and tears with laughter. A culture which has the power to look at people in a loving and forgiving way, with self humour. It was created in a different time, when people didn't take themselves so seriously, and didn't think they're the center of the universe. Yiddish is a culture which is very warm, which is the opposite of the cold culture, which seems to be prevelant today. Perhaps the Jews have realized that love, family and warmth are not popular in the new age- Which seems to worship, greed, evil, and above all poker face coldness.__________________________________________________ Several young filmmakers have missed the warmth of the old days, and realizing that if no one will do anything this warm and wise culture will not survive they set out to make their voice heard for the need to keep this beautiful culture alive. Well it's time, Jews stop feeling the shame and look at their MAGICAL old culture. It's existed for 1100 years for a reason. So stand up and listen to the music people. Don't be afraid to feel the love, the tears running down your cheeks, or the warm fuzzy feelings fill your body. The tough Israeli filmmakers, felt these strong feelings, and they didn't even understand the Yiddish language, which is an old Germanic dialect. So it means anyone who still has a few open corridors in their hearts will feel the same. Grandma, this one's for you. We're fighting back... We're no longer ashamed and hopefully we'll find a few more people to come with us on this amazing journey. Music ARTISTS’ STATEMENT: Dan Katzir was vacationing in New York in December 2000 when he stumbled across Zypora Spaisman. If she would have been 60 years younger, he probably would have fallen madly in love with her. Zypora in her nineties had an amazing energy – forcing him to see her show in Yiddish. For him it was a first, since Yiddish represented for him something he had always been ashamed of, because for him Yiddish represented an old world that he never liked or cared about. However, by the end of the show, Dan had fallen in love with Yiddish, Yiddish Theater, and the actors who were struggling to keep their show from closing. They asked him if he could help in some way, and he suggested documenting their show. He lived for one week with this fascinating group of actors in a show that kept getting more and more positive reviews by the major press, yet got less and less audience. He was shocked that no one had come to see the show, even when they were voted one of the top ten off Broadway shows for 2000. Thus it became a journey not only into our grandparents’ culture and heritage – but also into the real meaning of art. As young artists it was an intense journey into every artist’s nightmare in which there are no more people who speak the language of their art. In that week we learned the meaning not only of perseverance, but also of the love of art for art’s sake, even when there may be no audience for it.

About me:'Yiddish Theater: A Love Story" A New Film By Award winning director Dan Katzir ("Out For Love...Be Back Shortly") __________________________________________________________________ SYNOPSIS : THE COOLEST MOVIE EVER MADE ABOUT YIDDISH CULTURE !!! Enter the funny, larger-than-life world of Yiddish Theater through this magical independet film about the amazing woman who has kept the oldest running Yiddish Theater in America alive. Zypora Spaisman conquers all hearts in her passion for art, life and Yiddish. This heartwarming story of one unique woman's struggle portrays the fight of both an old art form to stay relevant and an old actress to find meaning and a stage in a society that worships youth. A must see film for anyone who loves theater and has realized Yiddish is HIP not shameful !!! Who I'd like to meet:People who believe the words NAIVE and INNOCENCE are strengths and not weaknesses. People who want to go see movies to feel something and not just be desensetized on CGI special effects.

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Award Winning Israeli filmmaker Dan Katzir's blog

Dan Katzir's acclaimed films won 22 International awards in the US, Europe and Asia and a nomination for the Israeli Academy Award. His films were shown in hundreds of film festivals and in many prestigious TV stations around the world. His film "Out for love...be back shortly" became an instant classic expressing the voice of his generation and becoming the most important film about the Rabin era in Israel. Before becoming a leading Israeli filmmaker, Katzir graduated Tel Aviv University Magna Cum Laude. He also holds an MFA from the prestigious American Film Institute(AFI) in Hollywood.

Dan was born into a family of great political and social importance in Israel. His great uncle,Efraim Katzir, was the fourth president. He is also related to Israel's second prime minister, Moshe Sharet. Dan served in the Israeli army in the prestigious paratroopers (Red beret) unit and finished his army service in the rank of Lieutenant.